Various forms of auxiliary tables and related supports have been proposed for assisting in the manipulation of work pieces in power tools, such as table saws. In cabinet making and similar work, it is often necessary to make cuts in large (e.g. 4 foot.times.8 foot) sheets of plywood or the like, which may be up to 3/4 inch in thickness, and which are relatively cumbersome, heavy, and difficult or awkward to manipulate. On the other hand, it is important to make accurate cuts in the sheets otherwise expensive waste can occur.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,106,381; 4,248,115; 4,377,099; and 4,640,346 all disclose forms of auxiliary tables for table saws. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,161,974 and 4,410,023 disclose auxiliary tables for and overhead saw and a shearing machine, respectively. In addition, several suppliers of table saws provide elementary auxiliary tables as accessories for their equipment.
There is a need for an auxiliary table and support which can be adjusted and which can provide assistance to an operator in instances where cuts are being made relatively close to one edge of a large sheet, and the quite large remaining portion of the sheet will otherwise overhang the edge of the saw table and make the entire process difficult, often requiring two persons to safely handle the sheet being cut. Cabinet makes in particular encounter this situation, and since most such craftsmen are sole proprietors, an assistant is not readily available, or presents additional expense.